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(No Model.)

I H. M. SMITH. MACHINE FOR CLEANING PBANUTS.

No. 350,326. Patented Oct. 5, 1886.

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PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM M. SMITH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR CLEANI'N G PEANUTS.

SPECIFICATION forniing part of Letters Patent.No. 350,326, dated October 5, 1886. Application filed February 19, 1885. Renewed July 13,1886. Serial N 6. 207,946. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM M. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cleaning Peanuts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. r t

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved separator for cleaning peanuts, taken on the line 1 1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse section-ion the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan View. Fig. 4 illustrates the method of attaching the teeth or fingers, tov the reciprocating bar L. Fig. 5 is a detached view in section,showing the method of supporting-the reciprocating bar at one end.

In the drawings similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

The casing of the machine consists'of uprights A A, top cross-girts, B B, bottom crossgirt,'0, the side walls, D D, and the curved end wall, E, these parts being of the ordinary form commonly in use in grain-separators.

- F is a shaft carrying the fan-blades f, and provided at one end With a crank pulley or pinion, G, by means of which power maybe applied from any desired motor, andat the opposite end with a crank-wheel, H, of peculiar construction, to be described. To the wrist-pin h of the crank-wheel is attached a bar, I, which at its opposite end is secured to'arm k of the bell-crank lever K. Through these devices a reciprocating motion is imparted to a feeder which extends across the machine and is supported at one end upon arm k of the bell-crank K, and at its opposite end upon the rock-arm O, which in turn is attached to one of the uprights A.

M is a board mounted in the upper part of i the machine and forming the top wall-of the fan'-case. It slopes rearwardly and downwardly and forms, together with the side casing-Walls and the opposing sloping board M the feed-hopper of the machine.

The feeder consists of a reciprocating bar, L, situated 'at the bottom of and in close proxiity to the board M, and forming practically a continuation thereof, it being situated in the same plane as the board, and carrying a series rate.

of fingers or teeth, N, extending rearwardly and below the opening m, through which the peanuts are fed from the hopper into the machine. The barLand its fingers form a feeder which insures that the peanuts shall be fed into the machine at a continuous and uniform In Fig. 4 is illustrated a method of attaching-the fingers or teeth, which are preferably formed of heavy wire, to the reciprocating bar. Before securing it to the bar the tooth is of the form shownthat is, it consists of the longer part, n, a short portion, a, at right angles "thereto, and another short part, of, parallel with the portion n. I shape is then passed through aperturesl,formed The wire bent into this in the bar for its reception, the longer arm, n, passing through the hole nearest the front edge of the'bar. After the part n of the wire'has been drawn up close to the under side of the bar, a groove being formed for its reception, if preferred, the projecting end of part a is bent down, as at 12 and the part n bent to form the projecting finger. By this method I'am enabled to rapidly, securely, and cheaply attach the teeth to the bar.

In order to give the bar L the proper inclination, Iinterpose a block, P, preferably of cast-iron, between the end of the bar and the rocking arm O,which supports it, this block being Wedge-shaped and provided with a stud, p, which drops into a hole formed for its reception in thearm O, the bar L being secured to the upper surface of the block by screws or otherwise. (See Fig. 5.) The other end of bar L is secured to rock-arm is by means of a stud rising from the arm and fitting into a hole in the bar formed for its reception. The weight of the bar L and the materialresting upon it, and which it operates to feed into the machine, is borne entirely by the arms k and O, and their supporting-pivots.

I have found that the various conditions under which the machine is used necessitate 5 that means should be employed for changing somewhat the direction of the air-currents, and I have shown an arrangement of winddeflecting boards in rear of the fan, which I 'now deem best suited to the requirements of the machine. BB/is'a deflectingboard below the opening on in the feed-hopper, operating to guide upwardly the air from the fan and cause it to operate upon the stream of peanuts and remove therefrom the dirt and impurities, as well as the light imperfect peas contained in the mass fed into the hopper. The peanuts fall upon the board R R, which guides them to the discharge-opening S. This deflectorboard is formed in two parts, It R, hinged along the line 9, and is loosely placed between the two side walls of the casing of the machine, where it is held in any position to which it may be adjusted by drawing the side casingwalls against the edges of the deflector, in a manner to be hereinafter explained. The lower edge of the part B of the deflector-board rests upon the board 1, along which it may move as the board is being adjusted. This method of mounting the deflector or wind board within the machine permits it to be longitudinally adjusted-that is, in the direction of its length-toward or from the tail windboard a, and vertically adj usted toward or from the opening from the feed-hopper, and permits it to be variously inclined, all of these changes being made by the board as a whole-- that is, without bending along the line 1*; or one part, It or B, may be moved without a corresponding change in the position of the other part. This capability of various changes of position I have found very desirable, owing to the different grades of material operated upon, or the different kinds of work required of the machine, one position wherein the two partsR R lie in, different planes being shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1.

When the board is lowered into the position indicated in dotted lines, the peanuts have farther to fall before striking the inclined board, and hence are longer exposed to the direct influence of the aircurrent than they are when the board is raised, while after reaching the board they travel more slowly, owing to the-less inclination of the guide-board R.

u is a tail'board, which, as will bereadily understood, is tilted or adjusted to correspond with the position of the deflector R R.

I have shown a novel method of fastening the board in its various adjusted positions, it consisting of a rod, T, passing through the machine from the outside of one casing-wall D to the other. It is provided at one end with a head, 15, and at the opposite end with a thumbnut, t, by turning which I can draw the head t and the nut tightly against the side casing-walls, and thus hold the boards in any desired position by compression, or drawing together the thin sides or walls of the casing, the rod T being placed beyond the limit actually reached by the boards. Each part of the divided board, as well as the other movable wind-deflectors in the machine, may be provided with one of these adjusting-rods. This adjustable deflector is mounted perfectly free between the walls of the casing and between the front and rear uprights, A, and serves, when secured in place by reason of the casing being drawn against the edges of the board by the bolt T, both as a guide for the material being cleansed, and also as a crossbrace for the machine between the front and rear upright posts, A.

V W X are deflecting-boards adapted to a form a contracted throat from the fan and to guide the air against the material being fed into the machine. If desired, the board WV may be arranged to swing into various positions. The crank-wheel H is provided with a flange, h, around its periphery, whereby there is formed a pulley adapted to receive a belt, Z. The wrist-pin h is sufficiently long to project beyond the flange, so that it and the connecting-rod I will not interfere with the belt,

which latter may pass to and operate a separator of the endless-belt pattern, often used in combination with the machine just described, and to which the peanuts are delivered after passing through the separator.

I do not wish to be limited to the employment of the various features described in a peanut-separator, as they may be advantageously employed in machines adapted to clean other materials; nor do I wish to belimited to the precise form of easing shown, nor the particular mechanism for reciprocating bar L, as these may be of any of the well-known or pre ferred kinds.

What I claim is-- 1. In a separator, the combination of the hopper, thereciprocating bar L, the teeth or fingers carried by said bar, each consisting of the short portion at below the bar,- the short portion n passing upward through the bar,

k and having its end bent to lie on the top of the bar, as at n, and the longer partgn, passing through the bar and bent to form the finger N, which lies below the opening from the hopper, and mechanism for reciprocating the bar, substantially as set forth.

2. In a separator, the combination of a hopper, feeder, rock arms which support the feeder, and a wedge-shaped block, P, situated between the feeder and one of its supporting rocking arms, whereby the feeder is inclinedrelatively to its supporting-arms, and means for reciprocating the feeder, substantially as set forth.

3. In a separator, the combination of the casing, the hopper, the rocking arms, the reciprocating bar L, supported at its ends upon the rocking arms, the wedgeshaped block I situated between one of the rocking arms and the reciprocating bar, itbeing provided with a pin, p, which enters a hole in the rocking arm, and means for reciprocating the bar,substantially as set forth.

4. In a separator, the combination of the casing, the feed-hopper, the fan, a deflecting- =board mounted between the side walls of the casing in rear of the fan and below the opening on from the hopper, and being loosely placed between the side walls of the casing, whereby it may be longitudinally adjusted in the direction of its length and vertically ad- IIO justed toward and from the feed-opening m, and the nutted screw-rod T, passing through the machine and adapted to draw the casingwalls against the edges of the deflector-board,

to hold it in place after adjustment, said rod being placed at the limit of vertical adjustment of the said board, substantially as set forth.

6.. In a separator, the combination of the casing, the fan, the hopper, and adjustable defleeting wind-board situated below thehopper and formed of two parts hinged together, and the tail wind board a, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HIRAM M. SMITH.

Witnesses:

-T. O. BAIN, B. R. EPPS. 

